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MST3K 809 - I Was a Teenage Werewolf
The Movie Synopsis Tony Rivers (Michael Landon), a troubled teenager at Rockdale High, is known for losing his temper and overreacting. A campus fight between Tony and classmate Jimmy (Tony Marshall) gets the attention of the local police, Det. Donovan (Barney Phillips) in particular. Donovan breaks up the fight and advises Tony to talk with a "psychologist" that works at the local aircraft plant, Dr. Alfred Brandon (Whit Bissell), a practitioner of hypnotherapy. Tony declines, but his girlfriend Arlene (Yvonne Lime), as well as his widowed father (Malcolm Atterbury), show concern about his violent behavior. Later, at a Halloween party at the "haunted house", an old house at which several of the teenagers hang out, Tony attacks his friend Vic (Kenny Miller) after being surprised from behind. After seeing the shocked expressions on his friends’s faces, he realizes he needs help and goes to see Dr. Brandon. On Tony’s first visit, however, Brandon makes it clear that he has his own agenda while the teenager lies on the psychiatrist’s couch: Tony will be an excellent subject for his experiments with a scopolamine serum he’s developed that regresses personalities to their primitive instincts. Brandon believes that the only future mankind has is to "hurl him back to his primitive state." Although Brandon's assistant, Dr. Hugo Wagner (Joseph Mell), protests that the experiment might kill Tony, Brandon continues and within two sessions suggests to Tony that he was once a werewolf. That night, after a small party at the haunted house, Tony drives Arlene home; and one of their buddies, Frank (Michael Rougas), is attacked and killed as he is walking home through the woods. While Donovan and Police Chief Baker (Robert Griffin) review photographs of the victim and await an autopsy, Pepi (Vladimir Sokoloff), the police station's janitor, persuades officer Chris Stanley (Guy Williams) to let him see the photos. Pepi, a native of the Carpathian Mountains, where werewolves, "human beings possessed by wolves", are common, immediately recognizes the marks on Frank's body, much to the disbelief of Chris, who balks at the idea of a werewolf. The next day, after another session with Brandon, during which Tony tells the doctor that he feels that there is something very wrong with him, Tony reports to Miss Ferguson (Louise Lewis), the principal of Rockdale High. Miss Ferguson tells Tony that she is pleased with him; Brandon has given him a positive report regarding his behavior; and that she intends to recommend Tony for entry into State College. As Tony leaves the principal's office happy with the good news, he passes the gymnasium where Theresa (Dawn Richard) is practicing by herself. A school bell behind his head suddenly rings, triggering his transformation into a werewolf, and he attacks and kills Theresa. Tony flees the high school and, despite the changes in his facial appearance, witnesses identify him by his clothing, causing Baker to issue an all-points bulletin for his arrest. A local reporter, Doyle (Eddie Marr), interviews Tony's father, as well as Arlene and her parents, in the hope of locating Tony and getting a scoop. Baker and Donovan attempt to trap Tony in the woods where they think he may be hiding. Still in the form of a werewolf, Tony watches as the dragnet looks for him, but is surprised by a dog and ends up killing it. In the morning, Tony awakens and sees he has reverted to his normal appearance and walks into the town. After phoning Arlene (who answers, but refuses to tell the police who is on the line), Tony heads to Brandon's office and begs for his help. Brandon wants to witness Tony's transformation, and capture it on film in order to advance himself in the scientific community. Brandon tells Tony he will help him and after telling him to lie on the couch, injects him with the serum again. Immediately following the transformation, a nearby ringing telephone triggers Tony's instincts and he leaps up---and kills both Brandon and Wagner---breaking open the film camera in the process, ruining the film. Alerted that Tony has been seen nearby, Donovan and Chris break in and are forced to shoot several times as Tony advances toward them. Upon dying, Tony’s normal features return, leaving Donovan to speculate on Brandon's involvement – and on the mistake of man interfering in the realms of God. Information * The film became the first to have the word "teenage" in the title. * Malcolm Atterbury, the dad from High School Big Shot plays Tony's similarly depressing dad. * Scopolomine is primarily used to treat motion sickness and post-operative nausea and vomiting. * Dawn Richard, who plays a teenaged gymnast in the film, was actually a 22-year-old Playboy centerfold model at the time, appearing in the magazine’s May 1957 issue, which hit newsstands a couple of months ahead of the movie. The Episode Host Segments * Prologue: While Mike buffs Gypsy, Tom Servo tries to throw a mutiny. No one else wants to be captain, so Mike ends up being captain again. * Segment 1: The Satellite of Love crew find Pearl, Professor Bobo, and Brain Guy on a nice Camping Planet. Bobo and Brain Guy help Pearl carry stuff; Bobo has to carry a bit more. The Satellite is now on auxiliary power, and has no shields. Tom goes out to inspect a disturbance on the ship, and when he comes back, there's a Facehugger clinging to his bubble. * Segment 2: Crow uses his brand new proximity-detector to check for more aliens. He finds out there are aliens everywhere! At least until he realizes he was actually measuring the humidity. * Segment 3: Tom gets rid of his face-hugger and grabs his guns and weaponry from his 500 years of roaming the universe. Servo enters the duct work to dispense with the aliens. Mike and Crow takes bets on when Servo will breakdown and cry. Tom gets stuck and, after a few seconds of nervous singing, starts sobbing; Crow wins the bet. .]] * '''Segment 4: The crew finds a batch of alien eggs on the bridge, so Mike makes some alien egg omelets. Crow picks a weird time to become a food critic. * Final Segment: The ship continues to lose power as the alien drains the energy. They decide to find something that will repulse it; the only choice is for Mike to dress up as Adam Duritz. The alien flees in terror. On the planet, Pearl, Bobo, and Brain Guy enjoy a campfire and taunt the SOL crew with a ghost story. Pearl proceeds to scare Bobo and Brain Guy, almost too easily. * Stinger: "People bug me, too!" Notes * First appearance of Magic Voice during MST3K's Sci-fi Channel run; she is played, for the first time, by Beth McKeever. * The running plot-line of the host segments mimics the popular 1979 science fiction film Alien, ''which features a space vessel besieged by a hostile alien life form. * This episode aired fourth during ''Sci-Fi Channel's Thanksgiving Marathon. Callbacks * "I thought I was Dale!" * When Tony comes home and sees his father (the actor from ''High School Big Shot'') ** Crow: Hey, it's depressing dad! ** Servo: I haven't killed myself yet! Running Jokes * Tony's Dairy-Throwing Antics. * Various riffs about Tony being a werewolf/dog, before the transformation. * Not a running gag in the episode itself, but Servo makes the quip: 'You get a lot of dirt with werewolf, you get a lot of clean with Tide.' It would later be used in Season 9 in the next werewolf movie - ''Werewolf''.'' * Constant references to Landon's later roles on ''Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. * Incorporating lines from the song "Werewolves of London." **'Servo:' "You are not drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s, young man, you’re just not old enough" Obscure References * "I picked a little fight." Paraphrase of the lyrics to the theme song from the TV show Bonanza ''(in which Michael Landon co-starred). The final verse from the pilot episode started off "We got a right to pick a little fight--Bonanza". *"Dad played by H.L. Mencken." "Jabba the husband!"'' H.L. Mencken was an influential writer and social critic who was famous for his writings on 'The Scopes' Monkey Trial.' He was fictionally portrayed as E. K. Hornbeck in ''Inherit The Wind''. The latter riff references the slug-like gangster, Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars entertainment franchise. *''"Tomorrow belongs to me!" '' From the Hitler Youth song in the stage musical and feature film, ''Cabaret''.'' *"Counselor? Come out, come out, where ever you are!"'' Quoting Max Cady, the character played by Robert De Niro in the 1991 remake of the film Cape Fear. * "Prepare the scopolamine!" "Prepare the made up thing!" Scopolamine is a real and powerful sedative used to induce sleepiness. While not the kind of thing used for "hypnotic suggestion" like in the movie, in some cases it was tried as a "truth serum" but produced unwanted side effects (turning into a werewolf not being one of them). *''"And what of the lambs, Clarice? What of the lambs?"'' Reference to the novel and subsequent film The Silence of the Lambs. * "Who's there?" "Judge Crater!" "D.B. Cooper!" "Madeline Murray O'Hair!" These are three notorious people who are famous for having disappeared/gone missing. Judge Joseph Force Crater was a New State Supreme Court Justice who disappeared in 1930 while his career was embroiled in scandal. He left a restaurant on a Wednesday evening and was never seen or heard from again. Cooper is the name associated with a mysterious jet airliner hijacker who extorted $200,000 in 1971, then jumped from the airplane with a parachute and has never been caught or identified. O'Hair was the leader of the group American Atheists. She disappeared in 1995 and her body was not found until 2001 (after this episode aired). For some time, it was commonly assumed that she had absconded with funds from the organization, but she had actually been murdered by one of her subordinates. *''"A werewolf like that who'd kill your brother..."'' Reference to the song "A Boy Like That" from the musical West Side Story. *''"And get Mark Fuhrman on the case!"'' Mark Fuhrman was the Los Angeles homicide detective on the O.J. Simpson murder case. His impartiality came under suspicion when it was revealed that he had openly expressed bigoted attitudes (including using racial slurs) towards people with dark skin. *''"The bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells! The tintinnabulation of the bells!"'' Part of the poem "The Bells" by Edgar Allen Poe. * "Hey! Lemmy from Motörhead man!" Lemmy Kilmister was the front man for the heavy metal band Motörhead. One of their best known songs "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcf7DnHi54g Ace of Spades]" was used in the title sequence of the earlier experiment [https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/MST3K_604_-_Zombie_Nightmare Zombie Nightmare]. Tony's hairy face as a result of his "werewolfism" resembles Lemmy's mutton chops. *''"I think Nellie Olsen is behind this!"'' Nellie Olsen was a character from the book and TV show Little House on the Prairie (in which Michael Landon co-starred).'' Memorable Quotes : ''Michael Landon's name appears in the opening credits : Mike: [singing to the Bonanza theme] We got a film, and it's starring Michael Landon... : crowd of "teens" watch the fight : Mike: And the 35-year-old high school students look on. : played by Michael Landon, has just punched someone. His friends look on in shock : Mike Tony: But I thought I had a right to pick a little fight, Bonanza. : Crow: 'If only they had milk to throw...... : '''Mike: '''And "Hoss" signs the commitment papers. : : ..... .... : ''takes Arlene home in his sweet ride of a 1950s convertible. : '''Crow: If I were a bug, I'd be proud to smash into that grill. Yep. ..... : Dr. Brandon walks into his back office, Mike observes all the test tubes and chemistry flasks adorning the place. : Mike: Wow....(Mike put his finger to his lips and flaps them up and down making a "B-b-b-b-b" noise indicating how crazy Dr. Brandon is.) : Dr. Brandon: 'Hugo....prepare the scopolamine! : '''Crow Dr. Brandon: '''Prepare the "made up thing." : : Brandon and his assistant Dr. Hugo prepare the scopolamine. : '''Dr. Hugo: '''But you know what might happen.... : '''Dr. Brandon: '''Might!? In science one must be sure!! : '''Mike: '''Even "Movie Science!" : : Brandon and Dr. Hugo prepare to experiment on Tony. : '''Dr. Hugo: '''What is the plan? : '''Dr. Brandon: '''Through hypnosis, I'm going to regress this boy back.....Back into the primitive past that lurks within him. I'm going to transform him! And unleash the savage instincts that lie within!! : '''Dr. Hugo: '''And then...? : '''Servo: '(Scoffs) Isn't THAT enough!? ..... : the party, first victim Frank walks home through the woods. : '''Mike Frank: muttering "I'm okay. I don't need a ride." What was I thinking? It's like 47 miles! : Crow Frank: I'm probably pretty tasty and well-marbled—not something I've often thought of. : . . . : Servo: I was a Teenage Werewolf Snack. : has finished yelling at Arlene for asking an innocent question : Mike Arlene: ...and I like you because...? : Tony: I'm sorry, Arlene. I don't know why I act like this. : Crow Arlene: Because you're a jerk? : Crow: Does just walking through it make you want to kill yourself? Then it's a high school! : werewolf approaches a high school gymnast as she practices. : Crow: Time for your compulsory Being-Eaten routine! : . . . : dark-haired gymnast screams in terror. : Crow: Judy Garland runs out of pills. : werewolf prowls the woods during an amazingly bright night. : Servo: Well, they couldn't shoot at night because the night belongs to Michelob. : Mike: I thought the night belonged to love. : Servo: Yeah, it did, but it was bought out by Michelob. Video releases A home video release of this episode is not currently forthcoming. However, the host segments are available on the Satellite Dishes disc included in Volume XXXIX. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 8 Category:Teen Exploitation Category:Unreleased Episodes Category:Unrated movies Category:Episodes directed by Kevin Murphy Category:1950s movies